Els blog: Proud of progress at Wentworth, on to Dubai
By Ernie Els, Special to PGATOUR.COM
Ernie Els will write a blog for PGATOUR.COM periodically during the 2009 season. For more information on Els, visit ernieels.com.
Nov. 16, 2009
It was great to be back in the old house at Wentworth last week. The weather wasn't great but the whole family was together and we had a great time just chilling out and having fun. The timing of the visit was perfect also because it gave me a chance to check on the final phases of our West Course renovation project.
Since my last visit to Wentworth in the summer the guys had kept me up to speed with everything that had been happening and obviously throughout the whole process I've continued to be involved in discussions about the key design features. I knew work had been going really well but it was great to come back and see it for myself.
I walked the course a couple of times straight after getting back from China. Then on Wednesday I had lunch and a chat with some of the guys from the Association of Golf Writers who were at the Club for the day. It was good to be able to explain to them my design philosophies and the reasoning behind some of the changes we've made to the golf course. I was also able to hit some iron shots into the new-look 18th green which was a bit of fun.
The course just looks fantastic and the quality of the workmanship is as good as you will see anywhere in the world. We've made some pretty significant changes and it looks quite different in certain areas but above all we've tried to enhance the appearance and all-round playability of the course and where appropriate give some different shot values. I'm proud of what we've achieved and I can't wait to come back again in the spring and play. That will be very special.
It's going to be a pretty special week here in Dubai this week, as well, with the playing of the first-ever Dubai World Championship. This is the climax of the Race to Dubai -- a week when the season's 51-tournament marathon basically turns into a 72-hole sprint.
I think everyone is agreed that the Race to Dubai has been a great boost to the European Tour. These are tough economic times and Nakheel and Leisurecorp should be congratulated for their vision and commitment. It's great news for everyone involved in the game of golf and it creates a lot of excitement for players and fans alike.
And it's another first in the sense that we're playing the brand new Earth Course, designed by Greg Norman, at Jumeira Golf Estates. At 7,675 yards it will be the second longest golf course in Tour history and although no one quite knows what to expect, I've heard good reports so I think we're all in for a treat. We know the condition of the golf course will be absolutely first class and I hear Greg has done a fantastic job creating a golf course that has a good balance of holes. The finishing stretch in particular sounds pretty special. I think Greg is quietly hoping that a lot might happen in those last few holes.
I obviously feel good coming in here after what happened in Shanghai. That wasn't a surprise to me, to be honest. I mean, I've been playing well and hitting it great for a while now and I knew that as soon as I made a few putts this is what would happen. It's pretty simple, really.
Anyway, coming second in the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions really helped my ranking position in the Race to Dubai and I start this week just inside the top-10. It's mathematically impossible for to win this year's Race to Dubai, but I'm extremely motivated to play well this week. I just want to pick up right where I left off in China, hitting it great and making a bunch of putts, and finish this 2009 season on a really high note.
I'll write next week and tell you all about it.
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Nov. 9, 2009
Last week's World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions was probably my strongest tournament of the year so far. I made 22 birdies and two eagles, including my ninth career hole-in-one in the second round, and shot a final-round 63. Obviously, I'm disappointed with that shot into the last hole, because that pretty much cost me a win, but I don't want to even think about that. This was a big week for me; I made a lot of good putts, my short game is right back where I want it to be and I'm swinging the club great. I'm feeling good about my future again.
So let me talk you through my week. The first round was quite a different story from what I've been used to this year. My long game was off a little and I hit only half the greens I looked at, but my short game kind of saved me out there. I got up and down a bunch of times to save par and made a few putts here and there, too. Considering the way I played, a 2-under par 70 was a pretty decent effort. I was looking to step it up and play better the next three rounds, though.
Friday was just a crazy round of golf. I mean, in the middle of my round I played an eight-hole stretch in 6-under par, including a hole-in-one on the par-3 sixth hole. That was nice. It was the ninth ace of my career. I was pretty much knocking the flag out on almost every hole. Either side of that was a bit scrappy, though, with a double and a triple bogey thrown into the mix. It all added up to 71. It could and should have been so much better, really.
On Saturday I was much happier with my game. I hit the ball pretty nicely, I was more consistent and I made very few mistakes. And the putter was working quite well, too. A 4-under-par 68 was the highest score I could have shot that day and it really pushed me up the leaderboard and into the top-10.
On Sunday I was going out just to try to shoot the lowest round I could. And what a day. I really had it going out there and after 17 holes it was probably one of the rounds of my life -- eight birdies and an eagle, 10-under par with just the par-5 18th to finish.
I hit a great drive on No. 18, but finished on a severe downslope in the fairway with about 220 to the flag. It was a tricky spot. I tried to hit a big cut with a 5-wood and basically duffed it, but as I said earlier I don't want to think about that because I played a great round of golf out there. I really did give it a heck of a run and I had a good time. And hey, shooting a final round 63, and knowing the situation, is going to do a lot for how I feel about my game going forward into my next tournament and the New Year. It's been a long and at times frustrating year, but my game is right where I want it to be now.
Anyway, I'm back at Wentworth this morning having flown from China on Sunday night. I'll stay here for the rest of this week, have a few days rest and then get myself ready for the Dubai World Championship starting on Nov. 19.
The good thing is being here this week also gives me a chance to check on progress in the final phases of the West Course renovation project. All 18 greens are now complete and I'm excited about seeing them, as I hear from the guys on site that the quality of the workmanship and the overall appearance of the course are absolutely stunning. I'll report some more on that in next week's update.
That's it for now, though. I'll be sure to write again next week before I jump on the plane to Dubai.
Cheers.
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Nov. 2, 2009
Barclays put on another great show in Singapore last week, despite Mother Nature trying to spoil things. The weather delays were a real shame for everyone involved, but the organizers did a nice job in tough circumstances, and they got us finished on Sunday afternoon.
I started the week really strong. I was out early in the first round, which proved a bit of a blessing because the weather turned nasty later in the day and a lot of guys weren't able to finish their rounds, and you know it was a good day for me. I shot a bogey-free 67 and felt like I was in control of my swing and striking the ball really well. I hit 16 greens in regulation so I had a ton of chances on the greens. I would like to have made a few more putts, but hey, any time you start a tournament with a 67 you can't complain.
On Friday I didn't play quite as well as I had done the previous day. Basically, everything was just a little below the standard I set myself and the score reflected that, a two-under 69. Still, that was solid enough. This is never a super low-scoring tournament so at 6 under for 36 holes I was in good shape going into the weekend.
Unfortunately my golf over the weekend was about as mixed up as the weather. On both days I played some good stuff out there, but I just never got any momentum going and the putter was cold. That was the story of the weekend, to be honest. A pair of 72s meant that I slipped out of contention and down into a tie for 14th. Not what I had in mind and obviously it didn't please me much.
Anyway, I've got a day's rest here in Singapore before I leave for China on Tuesday morning for the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions tournament at Sheshan International Golf Club. This will be only the second time I've played in this event (I tied for 21st two years ago) and obviously I'm looking forward to it. This is a huge tournament now, which reflects the amazing growth of golf in Asia these past 10 years. We've got a $7 million prize fund and seven of the world's top-10 will be teeing it up. As a player it's really not the kind of week you want to miss.
I'll write again next week and tell you how things go.
Bye for now.
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Oct. 26, 2009
I just want to start this blog by saying thanks again to everyone who sent me congratulations for my 40th birthday last weekend. We had a ton of e-mails on the Web site, and although I couldn't answer them all individually, your kind wishes were really much appreciated.
We spent pretty much the rest of last week in the Bahamas, and it was probably the most enjoyable and relaxed vacation that I've had in a long time. It's just around this time of the season that you can start to get a little tired, but this fortnight with the family in the Bahamas has really helped recharge the batteries, and I'm ready to go again for the upcoming tournament double-header in the Far East.
I flew into Singapore on Monday lunchtime and straight away checked into the Ritz Carlton, which I've stayed at before and is a wonderful hotel. I'm a big fan of Singapore. To me, it is the best city in Asia, and I have always enjoyed my time here. The people are very friendly, and I just love the whole buzz about this place.
Liezl is here with me this week, and together we're guests at an SAP dinner this Monday evening, which will be a chance to catch up again with some friendly faces that I've gotten to know over the years.
It's actually quite a busy week for social and media engagements. I'm doing a golf clinic with my good friend Darren Clarke on Wednesday and, later that same day, a radio interview with him and Padraig Harrington. I believe I'm also doing a 10-minute interview for Asian Tour Television, so all in all, it'll keep me busy!
Many of these functions will fit in with my practice schedule, though, so it still gives me time to get ready for Thursday's first round. And I obviously know this golf course well, so there's no issue there when it comes to familiarizing myself with the layout. They've redesigned it a bit in the years that I've been coming here, but it hasn't changed so much that I don't feel comfortable as soon as I tee it up here. It's a good, solid test, and the scoring is not usually super low. I like it.
I like this tournament, too. As I said before, I love Singapore as a city. And I've played quite a few tournaments in Asia, and believe me, this is as good as it gets. The sponsorship by Barclays is top notch -- they really look after us and put on a great show. Just the quality and the way everything is set up and run is world class, basically.
And obviously the whole Race to Dubai factor, along with a $5 million prize fund, has attracted a great field here this week, as well. I've had a couple of second-place finishes in this tournament, so it goes without saying, I'd love to go one better this time around.
Whatever happens, I'll be sure to write again next week and fill you in on all the details. Also I'm teeing it up in the HSBC Champions in China next week, my second appearance in that event, so I'll talk some more about that in my next blog, too.
Bye for now, though.
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Oct. 19, 2009
Does it feel different this Monday, at the start of the first week of my fifth decade? No, it doesn't to be honest. I suppose reaching 40 is a landmark moment in anyone's life, but luckily with golf, you've got plenty left in the tank at this age. You only have to look at guys like Vijay Singh, Kenny Perry and, going back a bit further, obviously the likes of Ben Hogan and Sam Snead to see what's possible. I like to think I've got a lot more wins to come.
Anyway, I had a great time with friends and family in the Bahamas to celebrate my 40th birthday. I didn't want everyone making a big fuss. That's not really my style. However, I do want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who emailed me their best wishes via messages on my website; sadly, I can't reply to everyone individually, but trust me your kind words are as always really appreciated. So, thanks again.
We'll probably stay in the Bahamas for the rest of this week as well. I want to relax and chill out with the family, but obviously I want to get back down to working on my game so I'll play some golf, too. That'll dust off the rust before I head over to the Far East for back-to-back tournaments -- first the Barclays Singapore Open next week, followed straight after that by the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions Tournament in China.
It'll be my second appearance in the HSBC and I've played Singapore the last three years, where my record is pretty good. In fact, I've had a couple of second-place finishes there in the last three years, losing a playoff to Scotty (Adam Scott) in 2006 and then finishing second last year behind Jeev Milkha Singh. Want to go one better this time, obviously!
But I'll talk some more about that in my next website report on Monday before I jump on the plane to Singapore.
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We came here to win this Presidents Cup and obviously that didn't work out, but it was still a great week anyway. The camaraderie we had in the team was very special, especially when you consider we were flying eight different flags. It didn't feel like that. I mean, the team spirit was so good it was like we were under just the one flag.
I have to give credit to the Americans. They are one strong team. We all gave it 100 percent, but after chatting with Greg afterwards and the rest of the guys, I think we felt that over the four days the Americans putted a bit better than we did. That was the difference. A lot of the matches were close and it just comes down to one key moment, one putt, here or there. That's how it is with match play golf. Sometimes you're giving it out; other times you're taking it.
As I've said before, I think the fact that they play this type of format every year has to help at least a little bit. Maybe in future we have to think about getting our guys together, either playing a friendly or something before we actually get to Presidents Cup week. But that's not easy with all of our schedules. Still, that's a discussion probably for another day. For now, let me talk you through the week as I saw it.
In the first round Foursomes, I was paired with Adam Scott against Hunter Mahan and Sean O'Hair. We made a good team and closed out the match with a couple of birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 to win 2 and 1. Adam hit it great from tee to green and proved himself a good Captain's pick; you know, he gave me a bunch of birdie putts out there. I couldn't quite make as many as I would have liked, otherwise this match could have been over in a hurry. But the good thing was I made some nice par putts at crucial times and felt like I hit the ball well.
Match score at end of Day 1: Internationals 2˝ - USA 3˝
In the day two Four-balls, I was leading the way for the International team with Mike Weir against Jim Furyk and Anthony Kim in the first match out. I burned the hole all day without making much, but Mike played well, as he always seems to in these matches. We were one down with three to play, then Mike made birdie on No. 16 to get back to all square then I rolled in a 12-footer on the 17th hole to go one up. Mike then hit a great shot into the par-5 18th and when Jim missed his eagle putt, they conceded Mike his eagle-three to give us a 2-up victory. It was a tight match, so we were happy to come through that one. And that was three Four-ball wins out of three for Mike and me in the Presidents Cup.
Match score at end of Day 2: Internationals 5˝ - USA 6˝
Day three is a big day, with Foursomes matches in the morning and Four-ball matches in the afternoon. I was paired with Scotty again for the morning session against Jim Furyk and Justin Leonard. I have to say we were never really in that match and lost 4 and 2. Jim and Justin were a strong pairing and they deserved to beat us, fair and square.
Match score at lunch on Day 3: Internationals 7 - USA 10
I then teamed up again with Mike Weir in the afternoon Four-balls against Justin Leonard and Zach Johnson. And that was probably the best I played all week. We dovetailed nicely on the front nine to go three up quite early. Then I made birdies on Nos. 9, 11, 12 and 13. The one on 11 was very sweet, as I holed a bunker shot from 40-plus yards. Anyway, we wrapped it up on No. 15 by the margin of 5 and 3. So that makes it four wins out of four for Mike and me in Presidents Cup Four-balls. Hopefully we can team up again in Australia in two years time.
Match score at end of Day 3: Internationals 9˝ - USA 12˝
As you can see from Saturday's overnight score, we had a small mountain to climb in the singles matches on Sunday to somehow turn this thing around and win The Presidents Cup. We knew we'd have to come out all guns blazing and try to get some momentum going. There was a lot of blue on the board early on, though, and pretty much straight away we were really up against it.
I was playing Sean O'Hair in the sixth match out. I've known Sean for a long time, probably six years now. He used to be coached by a South African, Gary Gilchrist, and I got to know Sean through him. I've seen him come through. He's a wonderful guy and we all know how much talent he has. And to be honest, he outplayed me on Sunday and the result reflected that, 6 and 4. I wasn't totally on my game, but he played very well and didn't miss many shots, so all credit to him. Sean is one of the young guys out here who has an incredibly bright future. He swings it well, he putts it well and he's got a good head in his shoulders. I would have to believe he's got a chance to become No.1 in the world some day.
As a team, we gave it everything and we battled right to the end. This time it just wasn't good enough. All you can do is congratulate Freddie and his team. They did a great job and deserved their victory.
Match score at end of final day: Internationals 14˝ - USA 19˝
As I said before, though, for everyone on the International team this was a great week. Hopefully we can get the right result in Australia in two years. That would be nice!
I'm pretty tired now after a hectic month, so I'm looking forward to having a couple of weeks off. I'll write again next week as usual and fill you in on what I've been doing.
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Oct. 5, 2009
I had a great week's golf with my dad at the Dunhill Links Championship. We managed to make it into the top-20 teams and play together on the last day at St. Andrews, so that was nice. And for me personally, there was a lot of good in my game. I just didn't make enough putts to get myself at the sharp end of the leaderboard.
We were drawn on Carnoustie for the first round and the conditions could not have been better. So shooting level-par 72 was a real missed opportunity. Carnoustie is the toughest of the three courses and if you wanted to get it on any day, this was it.
It was a similar story on Friday at St. Andrews. I played quite nicely on the front nine and got to the turn in 3 under . I was looking to push on from there, but I bogeyed No. 10, which kind of killed my momentum. Then after a run of pars I made double-bogey on No. 18 to shoot level par again, a horrible way to finish. I had a lot to do just to make the three-day cut and play in the final round.
Saturday was so windy it was beyond playable. Just on the range plastic baskets containing practice balls were being blown away, so there was no way a golf ball was going to stay still on some of the greens out there. It was frustrating for everyone -- players, fans and officials -- but it was the only sensible option. The forecast for the next two days was pretty good, too, so we soon got used to the idea that it would have to be a Sunday third round and a Monday finish.
And at Kingsbarns on Sunday I played great -- you know, really hit the ball solid out there. My swing felt comfortable and I hit all 18 greens in regulation, so I could have shot a silly number. I mean, I gave myself at least a birdie putt on every hole! A 6-under par 66 wasn't enough to get me in contention for the main tournament, but the birdie I made on No. 18 got me and my dad into the top 20 on the team leaderboard earning a spot on the Old Course for the final round. As always, that was something we both really wanted to achieve.
I was feeling good going into Monday's last round. We started on the 10th and the course was pretty much there for the taking, with almost no wind to speak of. I played a pretty solid back nine reaching the turn in 1-under par. Waiting to tee off on the 1st hole in front of that famous old clubhouse, I mentally set myself a little target to try to get to double-digits under par. Three straight birdies from the fifth got that job done and I made par on the ninth to shoot 68 and finish 10-under. That was a good effort after two level par rounds to start. All in all it was a good ball-striking week; just not much joy on the greens. Had a great time as always, though, and my dad enjoyed it, too.
So, my original schedule was to fly home to West Palm Beach on Sunday and then hop across to San Francisco and be there for Monday lunchtime. Obviously, that all changed when play was blown away on Saturday, but I'll still get there for Tuesday's interviews and the team dinner that evening. I'm literally just about to jump in the car and go catch my plane, which is waiting up the road at Leuchars Airport.
With these team competitions there are always a lot of social functions, certainly a lot more than we are typically used to at a regular TOUR event or even a major championship. That's all part of the deal, though, and I think the players are just happy to be a part of this.
And we're all just itching to get started. It's a little different from the Ryder Cup in that we spread the matches over four days instead of three, with Foursomes on Thursday, Four-balls on Friday, Foursomes and Four-balls on Saturday, and then Singles matches on Sunday. It's a pretty intense four days' golf and the matches get very competitive, but they are also played in the right spirit. I like that.
Greg Norman is our new captain this year, taking over from Gary Player. Greg was a good teammate and a great guy to play with. He was very professional and embraced every aspect of the team set-up. He wasn't off on his own; he was 100 percent in the spirit of things.
As a captain, there's obviously only so much he can do. If he gets lucky and chooses the right pairings and we get points on the board, he'll be a great captain! No seriously, he's a good man for the job. He had a lot of intensity as a player and I'm sure he'll bring that to the captain's role, too. At the end of the day, it's in the players' hands. We have to back up Greg's pairings by doing the business on the golf course.
We're trailing 5˝ to 1˝ in the series. To my mind the teams always look pretty evenly matched on paper, and they are again this year, but maybe the experience the Americans have in Ryder Cups has been a factor. They play more of these types of matches and that has got to help. Whatever, we've never won this thing on U.S. soil so everyone on the International Team is really fired up to see if we can put that right this year.
If we lose again...well, you know what, they're just going to have move it south! Whenever we go south, we're good!
I'll write again next week and tell you all about it.
Bye for now.
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Sept. 28, 2009
Having gotten to East Lake early in the week, I felt like I was in good shape straight away for THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola and looking forward to having a strong week. The course was playing unbelievable. The greens were quite firm, despite all the rain, and the whole golf course was in great shape.
I played nicely on day one but didn't make the putts I needed to and shot 71. The next day I played nicely again; my swing felt very much in the groove. I kept the ball in play most of the day, really felt comfortable with my ball striking. And this time I made some putts. That was the difference and it resulted in a 66.
After a lot of hard work my putting is improving. It's a slow process, but confidence doesn't just return overnight. I've watched some old tapes of myself in the 1990s and that's helped, especially since I went for a longer shaft in my putter. I've also watched what Tiger does a little bit and I feel like I'm starting to strike my putts with some authority now -- basically, getting the ball running at the hole. If I kept that up over the weekend at East Lake, I knew I'd have a chance.
I just didn't hit enough fairways those final two rounds, though. It's a tough golf course, this one, and you needed to be hitting approach shots from the short stuff. To be honest, I wasn't doing enough of that. It was the same situation I had in my last tournament, the BMW Championship at Cog Hill. I closed with a pair of 71s, by no means bad golf, but only good enough for ninth. It was a shame, because I felt like my game was really there. I just didn't quite put it all together.
In the final FedExCup shake-up, I finished 16th on the points list. I played considerably fewer events than most of the guys in front of me and managed seven top-10s, but not getting a win is what really hurt my ranking this year on the PGA TOUR.
Still, I've got other tournaments to play around the world this season, so let's see if we can't get that first win. It starts this week with the Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland. This tournament has been so dear to my dad and me over the years. We've played in it many times, and we've made the cut through to the final day in all but one of the years. It's a great time for me -- you know, to be at the home of golf with my dad. We don't get to see each other as much as we'd like, and when we play golf we can really relax and enjoy it. Also Johan Rupert, a great friend of mine, sponsors and runs the tournament. So it's a week that I really don't want to miss out on.
Obviously with The Presidents Cup next week it's more flying than I'd like to do, but I've got my own plane now, a G5, so we can fly straight in here. We don't have to stop anywhere, so I can get some decent sleep and plenty of rest. It's just the time change, that's all, but I've got a few days to recover so it's OK -- even at my age.
The format of this week's Dunhill is different to a regular tournament. It's played on three great links courses: the Old Course at St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns. We play each of the three courses over the first three days and then the final round is on the Old Course. It's a pro-am, which involves a lot of celebrities and sports stars from other disciplines. The atmosphere is definitely more relaxed because of that, and I enjoy that. I think the spectators really appreciate it, too.
Whatever happens, we'll have a good time. Also, we get to stay at one of the best hotels of the year, The Old Course Hotel, overlooking the 17th fairway. It's wonderful. The food is fantastic, it's got great facilities and, it goes without saying, you couldn't have a better location for the week. I feel very comfortable staying here.
OK, I had better go. I arrived in Scotland this Monday morning, and I'm playing in an SAP golf day at the Fairmont St. Andrews course. They'll be waiting for me!
I'll write again next week before The Presidents. Bye for now, though.
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Sept. 14, 2009
I said in my report last week that I needed to step it up to secure my spot in THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola in a couple of weeks' time. I was going into the tournament in 20th place in the FedExCup, and I felt like I needed a solid week to at least hold station. Although come Sunday I'd kept my place in the all-important top 30, the week really didn't go according to plan. Basically, it was a tournament of two halves; a couple of pretty nice rounds and a couple of very poor rounds.
The third round was the killer. I'd played well on Friday to shoot 67, featuring six birdies in the space of 10 holes, and that got me back to level par for the tournament. That was what I had in mind at the start of the day; just get back to level par. I felt I could push on from there over the weekend and have another solid, top-10 finish.
I made some big numbers on Saturday, though, and it was all down to my driving, which totally left me. Seriously, if you get out of position off the tee at Cog Hill, it is the type of golf course where you're going to struggle to make a score. It's very U.S. Open-like, in that respect. And you know, I pretty much got the score I deserved.
Sunday I had to bounce back. My TOUR Championship fate was still pretty much in my own hands. I knew that if I went out there and shot a score in the 60s, it would probably be good enough to hang on to a top-30 spot in the FedExCup. That was my mini-goal for the day, so a 3-under 68 was mission accomplished. I played some good stuff out there. OK, my game wasn't totally with me this week, but as an exercise in damage limitation, I guess I can take some positives out of that final round. It secured me the 22nd spot in the FedExCup, which means I'll be teeing it up at East Lake for my 14th career TOUR Championship. I'm looking forward to it already.
Right now, I have this week off, and it starts with an SAP Golf Day at the Bear's Club here in West Palm Beach. This is obviously home turf for me now, so it's really no trouble. And besides, as I think I've said before, I've developed a great relationship with my sponsor, SAP, over the years, and I know a lot of the guys really well. These golf days are fun, and there's a nice dinner in the clubhouse afterwards.
I'll then probably take it easy for a couple of days; just spend some time with the family. Then I'll get down to some serious work on my game and see if I can get back some of those swing feelings, which seemed to have left me a little bit at Cog Hill. My driving definitely needs a little attention, as they say. But I'm sure I'll be back in the groove soon enough. My swing is fundamentally sound, and I've been mostly pretty comfortable with my game the last few months.
Anyway, I'll write again next week before I head to East Lake.
Bye for now.
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Sept. 7, 2009
I've been playing well for a while now, and the results have started to come through a little better, so obviously missing the cut at the Deutsche Bank Championship was a surprise and a disappointment to me.
I really like the TPC Boston course and I played well there last year, so a first round 75 ... well, I just don't know where that came from. It was totally out of the blue. Just one of those days, I guess. And it kind of knocked the wind out of my sails, to be honest. I fought as hard as I could the next day, to try to make the cut, but the spark just wasn't there and I shot 73 to finish 6 over.
I got home on Saturday night and worked hard on my game all day Sunday and Monday. Everything feels in good shape still, so I certainly won't be disheartened by my performance in Boston. I know that if I keep playing the way I have been these past couple of months and keep putting myself in some good positions going into the weekends, a win is going to come soon. I feel a lot more comfortable with my game and my immediate goal now is to get myself back to where I feel like I belong; into the top five in the world rankings, at the very least, and winning some tournaments.
The good thing is, my second place in The Barclays elevated me into a decent position in the FedExCup standings so even with a missed cut in Boston, my spot in this week's BMW Championship is assured. We're back at Cog Hill after a one-year absence while architect Rees Jones made some changes to the golf course. I hear they've added some length and it can now play as long as 7,500 yards. There are some new fairway bunkers and the greens are a little bigger, too, with some re-shaping to allow for more variety on approach shots. It's a course that I like and, on paper, I like the sound of these revisions. It should be fun.
The field is reduced to just the top 70 players on the points list. Right now I don't know exactly where I stand, because the Deutsche Bank Championship still has another round to go, but I believe it will be around 20th place or thereabout. Come next Sunday night, obviously I want to be in the top 30 who qualify for THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola later this month. My last two appearances in the BMW Championship were top-25 finishes, so I'll probably need to step it up a bit from that level to be absolutely certain of teeing it up at East Lake.
Making THE TOUR Championship is the absolute minimum in terms of my goals this week, though. If I can get a couple of solid rounds under my belt Thursday and Friday, then I'll be looking to put myself right in the mix over the weekend. And if I can make some putts at the right time on Sunday afternoon, that's when the next win will come.
Okay, I'll leave it there for now and write again next week.
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August 31, 2009
I have a Callaway Day at the Magna Golf Club in Canada this Monday, but before that starts I have time to post this latest website report. Tied for second at The Barclays is my best result of the season and obviously I'm pleased with how my game is continuing to progress. I've got that nice little pause going at the top of the backswing and my rhythm is right back in the old groove again. I feel comfortable with my swing and that showed at Liberty National where I hit quality approach shots right down the stretch.
That's another step up. I mean, in my top-10s at the British Open and the PGA Championship I felt like I let things slip a bit coming down the stretch, but here I was pushing all the way to the end and looking like making birdies not bogeys. That was one of the most satisfying aspects of my play, I'd say.
So let me talk you through the week. This was a new golf course for all of us and, to be honest on day one I'm not sure a lot of us had quite figured out how to tackle some of the holes. It was challenging and very different to the type of layout we play most weeks. Saying that, I liked it a lot and I'd love to come back here some time in the future. Still, I just couldn't get into a flow on Thursday. I started on the 10th and went bogey, par, bogey, double-bogey. Then I birdied five of the next eight holes to get my card into the red, but then made a couple more bogeys to shoot a 1-over 72. What a day!
The good thing was I made some really nice putts on Thursday and hit a lot of good shots. I figured if I could have some more of that over the course of the next three days, and less of the bad stuff, I could play my way back into this tournament.
And that's exactly what I did. On Friday I shot 68 on a day when only 10 players broke par and the average score for the field was almost 74. No surprise, then, that my 68 took me from tied-57th at the start of the day to tied for ninth at the close of play. I hit a lot of good shots, the highlight being a drive to 8 feet on the par-4 16th where I made eagle. That felt sweet. And it was nice to finish my round going forwards. I was really looking forward to the weekend. I had 26 putts both days on Thursday and Friday and that's the kind of number you need on the greens to win out here. I liked my chances.
On Saturday I played another good round of golf. Not spectacular, but 70 around here was okay. It maybe should have been a little better, but it didn't help that I cracked the face of my driver hitting a tee shot off No. 12 -- hey, that's never a good thing. So that kind of hurt my strategy on a couple of holes, but the important thing was I felt like my game was in pretty good shape still. Hopefully I could play some more good stuff in the final round and get the putter hot. Then who knows?
On Sunday I said to Ricci before we started, "Let's go out there and shoot 65 and whatever happens, happens." I came close to that, shooting 66. And I really liked the way I played. I was bogey-free the whole day and very much in control of my game. I was in control of my emotions, too. I didn't win, but I would have taken a tie for second after my start. I mean, I was 4 over for the tournament after four holes in the first round, so to get all the way back and have a chance of winning, that's really good.
And the putter is becoming my friend again. I was tied for third in putting stats at The Barclays, which made all the difference. I recently watched some old tapes and I noticed I'd become a little too hunched over the ball. It kind of looked awkward. So I've lengthened my putter and I'm standing taller and the putter is swinging more freely now. I'm making some putts and I just have to keep that going.
Summing up, I really feel like I've got over that little hump that's been in my way this past year or so. Everything is looking good again and I can't wait to tee it up in the Deutsche Bank Championship later this week. I've got some momentum behind me and my confidence is on the up. It's so nice to have that feeling again, I can tell you.
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Aug. 24, 2009
The majors are over for another year, but there is still a lot to play for in 2009, especially since the PGA TOUR introduced the FedExCup in 2007. Before that, a lot of players would lie low and some would virtually disappear at this time of the year, but the FedExCup gives what was traditionally a quiet month a lot more of a buzz. I think it's been a success, and I would say that the top players share that view.
It's certainly good for the game of golf. I mean, any system that gets the best players in the world competing in four tournaments over a five-week period has to be viewed in a positive light. I know some guys will skip maybe one tournament out of the four -- I've done so myself -- but I don't think that does any damage to the bigger picture.
The TOUR has made a few changes since the first FedExCup a couple of years ago and for this season's Playoffs, they've tweaked the points scoring system to try to make things closer down to the wire, and I guess avoid a repeat of last year when Vijay (Singh) won the first two tournaments and pretty much had this thing sewn up. But as I've said in previous interviews, no matter what system you introduce, you can't guarantee a close finish. This is sport. If a player has a hot couple of weeks, he can still put himself in a very strong position.
So then, we kick off this week with The Barclays at Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey. I've heard a lot of good things about this golf course, so I'm keen to get out there and tee it up. It's a great-looking course, with views of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline across the Upper New York Bay. I hear some of the lucky members get ferried from their offices in Wall Street to the first tee in just 15 minutes. That sounds pretty cool to me. And that's the arrangement for the players this week, as well. I'm staying at the wonderful Ritz Carlton in Manhattan, and from there, I can get the complimentary ferryboat back and forth across the bay each day.
Just looking at my stats, I see I'm a little further down the FedExCup points list than I have been in previous seasons, lying 47th coming into this week, so I really want to make a good start and then see how things go as we build-up towards THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola.
As I said in my last blog after the PGA Championship, I feel like I've got some momentum at the moment and I want to build on that -- you know, keep pushing all the way to the end of the season.
Last week I had a couple of days just relaxing at the house to recharge the batteries after Hazeltine, but by the middle of the week, I was back working on my game and playing some golf. I feel fresh, I feel optimistic about my chances -- basically I'm raring to go.
OK, I'll leave it there for now and write again next week.
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Aug. 17, 2009
I'm disappointed this morning, because I definitely had my chances to win at Hazeltine. But I also feel like I've stepped it up a bit in the past couple of months and made genuine progress. I'm feeling more comfortable with my game and a lot of good, positive things are starting to happen. I can draw some satisfaction and confidence from a tie for eighth in the British Open and a tie for sixth at the PGA Championship. I'm competitive again and I just need to use this momentum and keep moving in the right direction.
For now, though, let me talk you through my week at Hazeltine. Sometimes this game really bites you in the behind, and my first round was a good example. I made a steady start with six straight pars, and then hit a great shot into the par-5 7th hole. The ball just went through the green, though, and I failed to it get up and down. Then I was just a fraction out with my tee shot on No. 8 and I found the water and took six. So I'm 3-over par and I've hardly put a foot wrong! The good thing was I kept grinding away and came back in 1 under, which was decent play in the toughest of the day's conditions. Still, shooting 75 in the first round was very frustrating.
I needed to make something happen on Friday and I played fantastic. Starting on the 10th, I gave myself a ton of opportunities on my first nine holes, but reached the turn in just level par. I stayed patient, though. I kept hitting great shots. And the putts eventually started to drop. I made four birdies in eight holes to shoot 68 and climb 86 places on the day. It could have been even better, but I was satisfied with my day's work; it put me inside the top-10 and right back in this tournament. I figured if I continued to play and putt like I did in that second round, I had a realistic chance of winning this thing.
And man, I played great on Saturday. I really had it on a roll. I was seeing my shots clearly and hitting a lot of fairways and greens. And I was making some putts out there. I was 5 under for my round with three holes to play, and right where I wanted to be in the tournament, but it all kind of fell apart on me at the end with three straight bogeys. You know, I just made a couple of bad swings and got a bit unlucky, too. Still, I felt like I could take a lot out of that round. It certainly wasn't all over. I needed to go out there in the final round and try to do what I did the first 15 holes on Saturday.
To be honest, though, I'm not sure a really low number was on the cards on Sunday. It was definitely the toughest of the four days for scoring. I think the fact that no one in the field broke 70 pretty much confirms that viewpoint. For me, it was a crazy up-and-down day. I made four birdies, but even the slightest mistake and you're going to make bogeys on a golf course like Hazeltine. Obviously I was disappointed to shoot 74, but I feel like the real damage was done those last three holes on Saturday. It left me with a lot to do and Sunday was a really tough day to have to try to play catch-up.
Anyway, like I said earlier, I'll take a lot of positives from the final two major championships of this year. My game was going nowhere for a while, but I can definitely build on these recent major top-10s and I'm optimistic that some more good things are going to happen for me between now and the end of this season.
Okay, that's it for now. I'll write again soon.
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Aug. 10, 2009
A tie for 29th at last week's World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational was obviously nothing special, but after a rusty first couple of days I went on to hit the ball wonderfully well over the weekend. So let me talk you through my tournament before we move on to the main business of this week, the final major championship of the year at Hazeltine, a great golf course.
I got off to a slow start in Thursday's first round, playing the back nine first and reaching the turn at 3 over. But I turned it around in a hurry, as they say, by holing my second shot on the par-4 1st hole. That was sweet! I ended up shooting 71, not a disaster on a course as tough as this, but I seriously needed to get into the red in my second round.
I just had a bit of an up-and-down day out there on Friday, though. My game was a little patchy and, as I said in my introduction, I was rusty out there, especially around the greens where my chipping was a little off. I hit only 50 percent of the fairways and greens that I looked at out there, so 72 was a fair reflection of my play.
The weekend was better. I hit a lot more fairways and greens and felt very comfortable with my golf swing. A level par 70 on Saturday was probably a couple more shots than I deserved; then on Sunday I really got it going with four birdies on my back nine. It was frustrating to not finish off a good round like that, but closing with a 68 meant I at least left Akron feeling like my game was in decent shape. I've put in a lot of hard work recently and slowly it's all coming together.
So, on Sunday evening I headed straight to the house we're staying at this week down in Minnesota. I'm going to chill on Monday and hang out with the family. Then on Tuesday morning, I'll get down to business and play the first of probably three practice rounds - you know, take time to reacquaint myself with this golf course and get in the right frame of mind. I haven't played Hazeltine since the PGA Championship back in 2002. I was still on cloud nine that week, having just won my first Open Championship at Muirfield and, although I played some nice golf there, I ended up tied for 34th.
Anyway, as I said before, I played enough good golf at Firestone, especially in the last two rounds, to come in here with a pretty good mindset. You've got to bring your whole game to win majors, though, and I know that I have to step it up to stand a chance of winning this week. I feel quietly confident about things, though.
And I always like my chances more on tough golf courses, so that's another element working in my favor this week. The way the courses are set up, no one tends to shoot the lights out in majors. Hazeltine will, I'm sure, be no exception, so I'm looking to make a nice solid start and try to just get myself in the mix at the weekend.
Okay, that's about it for this report. I hope you enjoy the coverage on television this week; after all, it's our final taste of major championship golf for another eight months!
Bye for now.
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Aug. 3, 2009
Last week went pretty much according to plan. We got back from Portugal on Monday afternoon and spent the rest of the week at Wentworth. As I said in my last blog, I wanted to work on my game and play some golf down at Queenwood, which I did. Also I wanted to see the guys at Wentworth to catch up on progress on the construction of the new greens on the West course. And I did that, too.
It's incredible the amount of work that has been done on the new greens at Wentworth. The guys are doing a fantastic job, and I was really impressed with what I saw. A lot of the shaping of the greens' complexes is complete and some of the greens are already turfed. It looks great.
We originally had a completion date of November, but, together with Richard Caring, we've agreed to extend the scope of the work on the course to include a review and remodelling of all the bunkers on the golf course, plus a few other alterations here and there, including the creation of a new 'natural' water hazard at the front of the 18th green. It'll take us into the New Year, but we feel it is for the long term good of the Club, and it will be more than worth it. This is a genuine once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we want to get it 100 percent right. And seriously, when this is all done, the West Course is going to be able to hold its own with the very best golf courses in the world. It's going to be that good!
OK moving on, this is obviously a big couple of weeks coming up. We've got the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone this week and the PGA Championship straight after that at Hazeltine in Minnesota.
The South Course at Firestone Country Club on the outskirts of Akron, Ohio, is a golf course we pros know well. They've been hosting tournaments here for over five decades, so they've got the hang of this, to say the least! It's a really good venue. At 7,400 yards, it's a pretty tough par 70, so you don't tend to get super-low scores. I've played steady golf here over the years, with a couple of top-10s but never done anything spectacular. No reason why that should be the case. I mean, I like the golf course, so let's just see how we go.
I feel fresh after a couple of weeks off and, as always, I'm looking forward to teeing it up. I got myself right in the mix at the British Open, and you know, I've missed that feeling. Hopefully I can build on that, play some solid golf in the early rounds and get myself in a strong position down the stretch on Sunday. That's what we all practice and play for.
I'll write again next week and tell you all about it.
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July 27, 2009
In this week's blog there isn't too much to write home about, as they say. After the Open Championship at Turnberry we decided to take a family holiday...which is actually a lot rarer than you might imagine. We all flew down to Portugal and stayed for the week at Quinta do Lago. And you know, we really had a great week together.
Quinta is a fantastic golf resort and residential estate on the Algarve and it's a great place to unwind, chill out and basically just hang out with the family. We spent a lot of time by the pool, so the kids were in heaven. That part of the Atlantic coastline has some beautiful beaches, as well, so we made the most of that. And the local food is wonderful, especially the seafood. I'm sure some of you traveling golfers out there have been to Quinta, so you'll know what I'm talking about. The golf courses are superb. If you haven't, I would recommend it. You really can't go wrong.
Anyway, we flew back to Wentworth on Monday. To be honest, the weather was horrible when we touched down -- nothing like a summer's day, let's put it that way. But I hear we're in for some sunny spells this week, so I'll be looking to work on my game and play some golf down at Queenwood. I'll also meet up with Chris Kennedy and the guys working on the new greens on Wentworth's West Course. Things are moving fast and I want to see as much of the work as I possibly can.
I'll stay here for the rest of the week and then fly out to Ohio for my next tournament, the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club. I'll tell you more about that in next week's report.
Bye for now, then.
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July 20, 2009
It's the Monday morning after this year's Open Championship, and I guess I have somewhat mixed feelings about what happened at Turnberry. Obviously, it was a great Championship and an amazing week for golf, with Tom doing what he did and coming so close to winning a sixth Open. Man, golf is a cruel sport sometimes. And for me ... well, the buzz of being right in the mix on the back nine on Sunday was tainted by the disappointment of letting slip a possible winning opportunity.
In the first couple of days, we saw totally contrasting conditions. The first day was perfect, basically as calm a links day as you could ever wish to see. Turnberry is golfing heaven on days like that. And on the second day, certainly in the morning at least, it was cold, wet and windy -- in other words, seriously tough.
That first round, I should have probably done better than 69. I played nicely and gave myself plenty of chances, but I left a couple of shots out there. And those shots would have come in handy on Friday, as a bit of a cushion if you like, because it was really difficult, especially the front nine where it was mostly into the wind, and the pins were tucked away. It was one of those days where if you dropped a shot, it was hard to see where you could get it back. I kept grinding away, though, and came home in 1-under par to shoot 72. I was mad at myself for a three-putt bogey on the last, but, in the conditions, it wasn't a bad score. At 1-over par for the Championship, I wasn't a million miles off the lead, either.
Saturday was the toughest of the four days. It's hard to explain just how hard links golf is on days like that, where you have 25 mph cross-winds on pretty much every hole, and the pins are hidden away behind bunkers and swales. It's a battle, but at the same time I have to say I do relish the challenge. And I played some really good stuff out there. I would love to have shot just a couple of strokes lower to edge a bit closer to the leaders, but, again, 72 wasn't a bad score in such tough conditions.
On Sunday, I knew what I had to do; get into the red and post a score early. I didn't have a specific number in mind -- to be honest, you just have to play one shot and one hole at a time. But when I birdied the 10th to go 3-under par for my round and level par for the Championship, I knew I was right in the mix. And I just tried to keep pushing all the way. The wind had switched from the previous couple of days, so there were some really tough holes coming in. I played well, and, in the end, it just came down to the putts on the last three greens -- for par on Nos. 16 and 18 and for eagle on No. 17. Basically, I had to make them to stand a chance.
I think No. 18 hurt the most because I hit a great shot in there, but it took a couple of hard bounces and ended up in a pretty tricky spot just through the green. The same thing happened to Tom Watson 30 minutes later.
I have no complaints, though. Being that close just makes me want it even more, so I'll keep working my tail off and hopefully start winning again soon. And looking at the bigger picture, I'll take away a lot of positives from my two weeks in Scotland, especially the way I performed at Turnberry. My swing felt good, I hit a lot of fairways and greens in the toughest of conditions and I felt more competitive -- you know, a little bit sharper -- than I have in a while. I can't put into words how much it would have meant to win my second Open, but it just wasn't to be.
OK, that's it for now. I'll write again soon.
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July 14, 2009
I played okay at last week's Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond. You know, nothing spectacular, but there was some solid golf in there and I was close to shooting some really low numbers the first three days. Didn't quite work out and 69, 69, 67 was good play, but not good enough to get me at the sharp end of the leaderboard come Sunday afternoon.
As I've said many times before, I love links golf, which is one of the reasons the Open Championship is my favorite major and certainly my favorite tournament of the year. You know, I just love the challenge, the style of play you have to adopt where you're working the ball and using your imagination. Links golf has always been a pretty good fit with my game, and my record shows that. I've won it once and, in my 18 appearances since 1992, I've had a total of 11 top-10 finishes. Seven of those top-10s have been in the last nine years.
So obviously whatever kind of season I'm having, I always come in here with a bit of a psychological lift, if you know what I mean.
You know, things haven't gone my way. In some ways I have been searching for the perfect swing, the perfect putting stroke, and in that I'm not any different from other players. But I feel like I have the drive and the desire to win more golf tournaments, and that is why I am still trying. I don't know when that will ever go away. If it does, then I will probably walk away. But right now I am still very, very dedicated to my sport. It's in my blood. It's what I've always done and I still love it.
Physically I feel good but sometimes I'm not quite there. I'm only there for one or two days of the week. I want to work on that, to focus on playing hard for four days. I don't know, when you've done it for 20 years you almost go into automatic mode and you don't want that. You want to be putting it into second gear, third gear... I feel I've been floating around a little bit. So let's get a little bit more drive and go.
Golf is a lifelong sport. And I'm not turning 50, I'm turning 40. Kenny Perry is 48 and No. 4 in the world right now. Vijay [Singh] is 46 and won the FedExCup last year. Ben Hogan won three majors in a row in his 40s. So there's plenty left in the tank. I just have to get it all going again.
And Turnberry will hopefully inspire me. When we came here for the Open in 1994 I was still floating about 3 feet off the ground having just won my first major championship, the U.S. Open at Oakmont. To be honest, I don't think I came back down to earth for at least another couple more months. I remember I played pretty well, shooting three straight 69s. But it was a low-scoring Open that year and I was a little off the pace going into the final round. I ended up tied for 24th.
My good friend Nick Price won it that year and I remember him saying in his speech that he'd had one hand on the trophy a couple of times in his career, so it was nice to get both hands on the Claret Jug. I felt the same way before I won my Open in 2002. Those near-misses, as painful as they are at the time, somehow make the victory that much sweeter. We had a great party that night in the Turnberry hotel, I can tell you!
Turnberry has a knack of staging great Opens. We had the Nicklaus and Watson shootout in 1977; then Greg had a putt for a 61 when he won here in 1986; then it was a pretty exciting finish when Nick won here in 1994 holing that monster eagle putt on 17.
I played a couple of practice rounds here before Loch Lomond and I liked what I saw. As you'd expect it's longer than it was in 1994, at 7,211 compared to less than 7,000 yards last time. They've put in some new tees here and there and 20-odd additional bunkers as well. The rough is the thickest I've seen for quite a few years and if the wind gets up it could be quite a beast. Whatever happens, there aren't many places to match the beauty of Turnberry.
To read more about Ernie Els, please visit www.ernieels.com.
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June 29, 2009
I just had a nice week off with the family at the house at Wentworth. It was good to be back -- you know, as much as we like our new place in West Palm Beach, we've missed it here. And the weather last week in London was kind of Florida-like anyway, so it was perfect! Seriously, it's hard to beat England when it's like this.
I played some golf at Queenwood and spent a couple of sessions working on my chipping and putting. Everything feels good in practice; I just haven't been converting it into my tournament play of late. But that will come. It's a bit of a cliché, but I just need to stay patient.
It's been a good week to catch up on a few of my other favourite sports. I played a lot of tennis when I was growing up and got to a pretty decent standard. So when Wimbledon comes around I like to watch some of the key matches... mostly on television, but each year Liezl and I go to Wimbledon for at least one day's play, which we did again last week. We love it.
I also made sure I was in front of the television for the second Lions' Test (rugby) on Saturday. It was pretty exciting stuff, with the Springboks (South Africa) scoring a last minute penalty to win the match and go 2-0 up and win the Series. Against any other team I'd have been gutted for the Lions (British & Irish), but against our Springboks...well, it was obviously a bit of a result! Even though the Series outcome is decided, you can bet the third and final Test will be another very competitive and tough contest.
So, what about this week? Well, being at Wentworth gives me an opportunity to find out firsthand how construction of the new greens on the West Course is coming along. I've been involved in the designs and studied all of the technical drawings with Greg Letsche, our Head of Design, but there's nothing like seeing it with your own eyes. It's still early days. I mean, we're barely a month into the project. But Chris Kennedy tells me things are moving pretty fast, so it'll be interesting to see where we're at.
I obviously want to work some more on my golf game, too. But I'm also looking forward to spending time with the family. If the weather stays this hot, which I hear it's going to, we'll get plenty of use out of our swimming pool. The kids will be pleased!
Okay, that's about it for now. I'll write again at the start of next week, before I fly to Loch Lomond for the Barclays Scottish Open.
Bye for now.
To read more about Ernie Els, please visit www.ernieels.com.
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June 22, 2009
At the time of me writing this report, this year's U.S. Open still has some life left in it with a Monday finish due to the weather delays we had earlier in the week. The tournament finished for me on Saturday, though, when I missed the cut.
What can I say? You know, I feel like my game has been moving in the right direction and I honestly liked my chances coming in here. The course was great and I liked the set-up. But I got off to a bad start in my first round and I just never found my competitive rhythm. It's as poorly as I've played in a major championship for quite some time.
The thing is, on a course like Bethpage Black, as it is with all U.S. Open venues, a score can get away from you in a hurry. And it's not like you can be aggressive because if you chase birdies on this type of golf course it bites back twice as hard. The numbers are what they are; a 78 in round one and a 77 in round two. I was out of there.
Obviously I'm very disappointed with my performance. But hey, this game can knock your head against a wall sometimes. A lot of guys came in here with some real form and they ended up packing their bags early, too. There's no use complaining. Hopefully it was just one of those weeks and I'll bounce back. That's kind of how I feel. I just have to keep plugging away and believe that things will turn around for me.
The Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond is my next tournament followed straight after by the Open Championship at Turnberry. That's a double header that I'm really looking forward to. It's a couple of weeks away, though, so I'll round things up for now and write again next week and fill you in on how things have been going.
To read more about Ernie Els, please visit www.ernieels.com.
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June 15, 2009
Okay, this is obviously a big week with the U.S. Open on the Black Course at Bethpage State Park in New York. To be honest, I can't really think of a better U.S. Open venue. Being situated on Long Island it gets some big crowds. And New Yorkers are a great sporting crowd, even if they do sometimes get a little carried away. But you know, I just love that whole New York attitude. It makes for a great buzz. I remember when we were here for the U.S. Open in 2002 if they didn't like your shot they'd say things like, "Get that (junk) out of here, man." They love it!
Not that there aren't already enough incentives to hit good shots out here. I mean, Bethpage Black is a seriously big golf course. I remember the 10th hole had a 280-yard carry to the fairway, so some guys couldn't even reach it. And bear in mind, on one of the first two days that's your first hole! Man, what a start. This course is a beast. The length of some of the par 4s always raises a few eyebrows, but I'm not sure it makes any difference whether a hole is a long par 4 or a short par 5. You're just trying to shoot the lowest number you can. It's the same for everyone.
If I were to have one issue with the set-up last time, though, it would have been the rough. It was brutal, which you expect in a U.S. Open, but it wasn't graded so it didn't matter if you missed a fairway by 15 inches or 15 yards, your next shot involved a wedge and a prayer. That's not right. This time the rough is graded, so if you only just miss a fairway you'll have a shot. That's much fairer. If you miss it by a mile -- well, it's still the same as last time. You'll get punished, which is as it should be.
But overall I'd have to say the course set-ups for most of the recent major championships have been absolutely right. Augusta was great this year. So were Torrey Pines and Royal Birkdale last year; obviously extremely tough but also very fair. That's the way majors should be.
The USGA has been known to sum it up with the simple phrase, "We're not trying to humiliate the best players in the world; we're simply trying to identify who they are." That's okay with me. I'm fine with that. The U.S. Open is a very particular type of test and the degree of difficulty is definitely not over-hyped. Trust me, it is a really tough examination of your game. The fairways are narrow, the rough is thick and the greens are firm and fast. Personally, though, I like tough golf courses. I like it when par is a good score, so I always come into a U.S. Open with a lot of confidence. Obviously having won twice before, that helps.
I felt like the Memorial Tournament was good preparation for this week; you know, just the way Jack sets-up that golf course fits in very much with a U.S. Open-type challenge. And I was satisfied with my game that week. As I said in my tournament diary, I hit a lot of fairways and led the greens in regulation stats. If my game shapes up like that again this week, and I have every reason to believe that it will, I have to like my chances.
Certainly I can't see how anyone who hits it in the rough too many times can figure in the equation Sunday evening. This is the U.S. Open and the primary name of the game is patience. You can't go after a golf course like this; not in my view, anyway. If you're too aggressive, it's just going to bite you in the behind. You've got to focus on putting the ball in the fairway, hitting a strategic mixture of clubs off the tee, and then playing smart with your approach shots. And it almost goes without saying you have to make your share of putts. Both times I won this championship I had a good week on the greens, holing out well from inside 10 feet.
Anyway, that's it for now. I'm going to go hit some balls this morning. Oh, but just before I sign off I can tell you that in the first two rounds I'm paired with Retief Goosen, like me a two-time winner of the U.S. Open, and Phil Mickelson. That's a nice draw. I can't wait to get started!
I'll obviously write again next week, so bye for now.
To read more about Ernie Els, please visit www.ernieels.com.
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June 8, 2009
I was really looking forward to going back to Muirfield Village for this year's Memorial Tournament. It's a tournament and a golf course that I love. And you know, I just felt like it was the ideal place where I could maybe ignite that little spark that I need in order to start contending and winning golf tournaments again.
And on the whole, I'm pleased with how things went. It was good to be back in the mix again at the weekend; that was one of the goals I'd set myself at the start of the week. And I played great from tee to green. I was right near the top in fairways hit for the week, and I led the stats for greens in regulation -- hitting almost 80 percent of the greens over four rounds. That tells me my golf swing is right where I want it to be. And that's how it feels, too. The hard work that I've put in with Butch has really paid off, and I feel much more confident.
OK, I didn't make the putts that I needed to. But to be honest, I can really see a way forward now on the greens. The putter that Callaway made for me a couple of months ago, which is identical in every way to a model I used to win my majors and a bunch of other tournaments in the 1990s, feels good. And I'm working on something that I believe is right. I played with Tiger in the first couple of rounds, and he kind of re-affirmed what I was working on and agrees that this is the putter for me. I just have to keep doing what I'm doing. I'm right there.
Anyway, just to recap on my four rounds. I opened with a pair of 70s and that was about as high as I could have shot. I mean, the way I played from tee to green, I could have comfortably been 10-under par. But even though the putts didn't drop for me, I didn't get frustrated. I stayed patient out there and didn't let the rounds get away from me. A sign of that was that I birdied the last hole in both of my first two rounds.
I knew that to win this tournament, I'd have to step it up a bit and shoot a couple of rounds in the 60s, but overall I was happy with my game going into the weekend. And I continued to play well. In fact, my final two rounds were similar in nature to my first two. I was looking for better, but I'll take it for what it was. I played well enough to finish higher than a tie for eighth, but I left Muirfield Village feeling pretty positive about things.
This Monday, I'm taking part in an SAP corporate day at Congressional Country Club. SAP is one of my major sponsors, and I do a few of these events every year. They follow a similar format; I'll do a coaching clinic in the morning and then play a few holes with each group in the afternoon. They're a great bunch of guys, and we tend to have some fun out there.
Then I've got the rest of this week off, which I'll spend at the house in West Palm Beach. The practice facilities here are incredible, so I'm going to work hard on my game. I'll play a couple of rounds of golf, too.
Then, at the weekend, I'll get ready to head up to New York for the U.S. Open on the Black Course at Bethpage State Park. We were last there in 2002, and, all things considered, I can't think of a better U.S. Open venue. I'm really excited about going back there and getting down to business. I've won a couple of U.S. Opens in my career, and I genuinely believe my game is strong enough right now to contend for a third.
I'll write again next week with a proper tournament preview.
Bye for now, though.
To read more about Ernie Els, please visit www.ernieels.com.
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June 1, 2009
We all had a great time at the house at Wentworth last week. The weather was incredible; I mean, it felt like we were in the Mediterranean or something. And England is hard to beat when it's like that. Obviously, I enjoyed spending some time with the family. We had a birthday party for Samantha at the house on Tuesday, which was a lot of fun.
I went to the gym most days and put in some good, hard sessions here at the club. Physically, I feel in really good shape at the moment. Above all, though, I made the most of the great weather and played quite a lot of golf last week. I've got a new Callaway FT-9 driver in the bag, which I started using during the last couple of rounds of the BMW PGA Championship. It feels great; the clubhead is quite compact, and it has a slightly deeper face -- more like a classic design shape, I guess.
Anyway, I feel really confident with the new driver and man, the ball is going a mile! At Queenwood on Sunday, I had seven birdies and an eagle, which felt sweet. I only wish I could have played again on Monday. It was another beautiful day, but I had to catch the plane over to Ohio for this week's Memorial Tournament. But hey, I certainly wasn't feeling bad about that. This is one of my favorite tournaments of the year.
I love Muirfield Village; to be honest, I have ever since I first started coming here some 15 years ago. Jack does an incredible job with the setup and the conditioning of this golf course. In my opinion, it is by far the best course on the PGA TOUR. Seriously, if any greenkeeper or committee wanted to know how to set up a golf course, they should come to Muirfield Village for this tournament, because, let me tell you, this is the standard that every other golf course in the world should aim for.
Jack obviously has a world of experience as a golf course architect, but he's also in the position of having been a great, great player, and, therefore, he can see things through a professional player's eyes, too. He wants the players to feel challenged by the course, and, because he prides himself on quality, he also wants it to be in perfect shape. And this golf course is perfect in every way -- the greens, the fairways, the bunkers, the way the tees are mown -- basically everything. It's a joy to play.
I won this tournament in 2004, which is still one of the highlights of my career, and I feel good about my chances every time I tee it up here. I've been working extremely hard on my golf game, and everything feels really good. I'm just looking for that little spark to get me going.
You know, I just need to make a good start to this tournament -- kind of establish myself early and then be in a good position going into the weekend's play. Although I've played some good stuff in recent months, it's been a while since I properly contended over the weekend, and I miss that feeling. I really want to get back in the mix, as they say.
I'll write again next Monday and tell you all about my week.
To read more about Ernie Els, please visit www.ernieels.com.
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May 25, 2009
I basically wasn't firing on all cylinders at last week's BMW PGA Championship. As has been the case recently, there was a lot of good stuff in my game, but the consistency isn't there. I'm making a few too many mistakes and also not capitalizing fully on my good phases of play.
Certainly, over the first two days, I felt like I played better than I scored; a pair of 73s leaving me right on the cut line at 2 over. That's been a familiar story this season. But you know, it is what it is. My game is better than that. I just have to start making it show on the scorecard.
The positive thing is I shot 5 under over the weekend, a 70 on Saturday and a 69 to finish on Sunday. I played a bit better -- not perfect, but I hit plenty of greens in regulation and gave myself a lot of chances out there. To be honest, 5 under was probably about as bad as I could have scored, which is obviously satisfying in one sense but frustrating in another. It left me at 3 under for the tournament and tied for 21st.
It wasn't the result I was looking for, but overall it was another great championship at Wentworth. We had wonderful weather, and the crowds were fantastic. Next year, by which time the West Course will have its new greens, I know it's going to be even better.
I've now got this week off. As I said in my last Web site diary, I was originally scheduled to play in the European Open at the London Club. It would have been my first appearance in this event for something like 15 years, but my main focus this summer is the majors, and for that reason I wanted to keep my schedule a little lighter going into the U.S. Open. I still get occasional twinges in my knee, which is to be expected, and I just need to be mindful of that and make sure I look after myself.
So I'll stay for another week here at the house at Wentworth and spend the time working on my golf game and also my fitness. I'll write again before I fly back to America for Jack's Memorial Tournament next week.
Bye for now.
To read more about Ernie Els, please visit www.ernieels.com.
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May 18, 2009
As I was saying in my last website report, I spent last week at the house in West Palm Beach and for a fair chunk of that time you'd have found me working on my game. My golf just wasn't in the groove at the previous week's THE PLAYERS Championship so I had a couple of specific things in mind that I wanted to work on last week.
When things aren't going how you want, there's only one answer; you have to get out there on the range and work it out -- you know, just keep grinding away. That's what I'm doing right now. I'm 100 per cent focused on my golf and trying to really get the best out of my game, basically. I'm certainly hitting the ball well enough to get some good results.
And this would be a nice week to get back in the mix, as they say. It's the BMW PGA Championship on the West Course at Wentworth, the flagship event on the European Tour and one of my favorite stops of the year. You can call this pretty much home turf for me. In fact, I'd say I know this golf course probably as well as any other course in the world.
My record in the PGA is not as good as my record in the Volvo World Match Play Championship, which I managed to win seven times on this course, but that doesn't stop me looking forward to teeing it up here every May. I believe this tournament can hold its own in the very best of company. Everything about it is pure class; the golf course, the field, the way the tournament is run and the way the players are looked after. The British golf fans are the best in the world, too.
And on another level it has been gratifying for me that the ongoing changes we've made to the course, starting in 2006, have been so well received by the players. As I've said many times in recent years, this process of modernization and refinement was essential so that the golf course could stay with the times, so to speak. Many of Harry Colt's original shot values are maintained and so is the essential character of the golf course -- we would never want to change that. The only difference is it is now a more complete test of golf for the modern game.
After this week's tournament we get to work on the final piece of the jigsaw; the greens. Everyone at the club felt there was a need to build new greens and in the end it came down to timing. With the Volvo World Match Play Championship moving to Spain, the calendar is clear for the work to begin, so all 18 greens and green surrounds can now be re-built to USGA specifications. This will give the course some world-class putting surfaces.
Our other main objective is to bring the greens back to the form, shape and contour more in keeping with Harry Colt's original vision. Many of the greens have shrunk over the years and in some cases have become disconnected in relation to the greenside bunkers and green surrounds. We intend to re-shape and re-contour the greens and make changes to the surrounding areas. We also need to address a few settlement issues here and there and improve overall drainage. When the 2010 BMW PGA Championship comes around, I think the West Course will have among the finest putting surfaces in the world.
Anyway, there's just one other piece of news before I sign off for this week. As you may know, I was originally planning on teeing it up in the European Open next week. But after a bit of a rethink over the weekend I decided I wanted to keep my schedule a little lighter going into the U.S Open in June, so I'll take the week off instead and work some more on my game and on my fitness here in the gym at Wentworth.
I'm always sorry to have to pull out of any tournament, but it's for the best. I still get occasional twinges in my knee. It's nothing serious, but I just have to be sure I'm not overdoing things. There are a lot of tournaments over the summer months and obviously I want to keep myself in the best shape physically, especially for the majors.
That's it for now. I'll write again soon.
To read more about Ernie Els, please visit www.ernieels.com.
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May 11, 2009
After finishing tied for 45th at TPC Sawgrass, there's really not a lot to write home about, as they say. I'll briefly talk you through each day's play but, to be honest, it wasn't too pretty out there. I played some good stuff in patches, but my game was way too inconsistent.
I started my first round on the 10th and had a crazy first nine holes with a bogey, three birdies, two double-bogeys and three pars. I managed to settle things down and play the front nine in one-under par, with a birdie and eight pars. But what a day! I just didn't hit enough fairways and greens and the end result was a 73. So, lots of work to do basically.
The good thing was I played a little bit better on Friday, making four birdies in my first nine holes and nine straight pars coming in to shoot a 3-under 69. That was obviously a bit more like it, but again I didn't play great. I made a few putts, though, so that was nice.
I just needed to carry that into the weekend but, as I said before, this was a tournament where inconsistency was to be my enemy. I was making some birdies, but my scoring was very up and down. You know, there was just no momentum out there. Every time I got myself heading in the right direction, I'd make a mistake somewhere and fall back again. If you're not absolutely on top of your game on a golf course like this, with the greens this fast and hard, you can shoot some pretty high numbers. What more can I say? It was an extremely frustrating few days of golf.
Anyway, I now have a week off at the house in West Palm Beach and I'll spend most of that time working some more on my game. On Monday I'll be flying over to England for back-to-back tournaments over there; the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth followed by the European Open at the London Club. I'm looking forward to those.
I'll write again before I leave, but until then, bye for now.
To learn more about Ernie Els, visit www.ernieels.com.
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May 4, 2009
There's not much in the way of news to report this Monday morning. As I was saying in my previous website diary, I got back from South Korea last Tuesday morning after a bit of a marathon journey across the globe. Doing that journey twice in eight days takes it out of you, so for a few days after that I just took it easy at the house in West Palm Beach. Then at the weekend I spent time working on my game here at the Bear's Club.
And this week my 'journey to work' couldn't be much more of a contrast to the Ballantine's Championship a couple of weeks ago. Then it was four separate flights and virtually two days' travelling, whereas for this week's PLAYERS Championship I'll just put my gear in the back of the car and drive up to the house we're renting at Ponte Vedre Beach. No problem! And in no time at all I'm ready to start my preparations.
Traditionally it has always been one of the strongest fields of the year at TPC and I guess by most people's opinion it deserves its unofficial tag of golf's 'fifth major'. This is the 16th time I've played in this tournament and I have to admit my record is not the best; just four top-10s including a tie for sixth last year. Don't ask me why I haven't done better. To be honest, I can't really put my finger on it. I've had plenty of good scores over the years; I just haven't quite put it all together over the full four rounds.
I have to say, though, I think this golf course is improved since they made some changes to it a few years ago. They lengthened the course from 6,954 yards to just over 7,200 yards; they also improved the drainage and brought in some new grasses, so the course plays a little firmer and faster. As many of you will know, I tend to like that style of play.
But make no mistake -- this is still an unforgiving golf course, with not much margin for error on a lot of the holes. It really punishes mediocre golf shots and for that reason it's not the type of layout where you can get away with it, if you know what I mean. It's a ballstriker's golf course.
Driving is probably the single biggest key. You've got to hit your ball in the fairways, because the greens are usually very firm and fast, and the pin positions tend to be fairly tight. You want to be hitting your approach shots from the short grass otherwise you haven't got the control of your spin and ball-flight that you need in order to get the ball close and set-up birdie opportunities. My long game has felt in pretty good shape these past few weeks, and I feel like a lot of the tee shots suit my eye, so I'm quietly optimistic. Solid golf gets you good rewards here.
Okay, that's it for this week. I'll write again next Monday. Bye for now.
To learn more about Ernie Els, visit www.ernieels.com.
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April 27, 2009
I just have time to post this website report in-between connecting flights on the long journey from South Korea back to West Palm Beach. It's a bit of a marathon, but I said before the tournament that I thought the trip was worth the effort. And nothing about last week altered that view. It wasn't my first time playing in South Korea, but it was my first time playing in the Ballantine's Championship and I enjoyed the experience.
Conditions were very windy in the practice days, but on Thursday it was beautiful; a total contrast to what we'd had the few days before. The course was there for the taking, basically. I didn't have a bogey on the card, which I haven't done for a while, so that was nice. But I felt like I left some shots out there and, on a day as good as Thursday was, I'd say 68 was only an okay score. My swing felt good, though, so I was looking forward to the rest of the week.
Those light breezes and clear blue skies on Thursday turned to strong winds and rain on Friday. It was one of those days where par on any hole was a decent result. I shot 74. That's obviously not a great score, but in the conditions it was by no means a disaster, either.
Saturday is traditionally called Monday Day, and usually if you shoot 73, you move in the wrong direction. But after a three-hour fog delay, we had some really tough conditions out there with the wind gusting up to 40 mph. It was even more brutal than the day before and there were times where I felt like we were back in Scotland! It was windy, cold and a really good test of golf. As it turned out, my round of 73 was the second lowest score of the day. I went from tied for 28th after two rounds to tied for sixth after three rounds and in with a chance of winning.
The weather was a little kinder to us on Sunday, but it was still cold and fairly blustery, so scoring wasn't easy. I moved into a good position with a couple of birdies in the first six holes, but I couldn't keep the momentum going and ended up making a couple of bogeys just after the turn. That cost me. I made birdie on 16, but it was too little too late. A final round 71 left me at two-under par for the tournament and tied-4th.
To be honest, I felt like I'd wasted a good chance to win. But on the upside, my long game stood up well to probably the toughest conditions I'll see all year and I can take some more encouragement from that.
Anyway, as I said before, it's a seriously long journey from South Korea to West Palm Beach and I won't get back to the house until Tuesday morning. I'll just take it easy for a couple of days, re-charge the batteries, and then going into the weekend I'll start my preparations for THE PLAYERS Championship next week. That one is a little closer to home!
I'll write again next Monday and tell you more.
To learn more about Ernie Els, visit www.ernieels.com.
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April 20, 2009
Hilton Head was a good place to go to after the disappointment of the Masters. As I've said before, I love this place. Something about it just seems to suit my eye. And I had a nice day out there on Thursday, shooting a first-round 68. I hit a lot of greens and really found my rhythm after the first few holes. It was satisfying to come up with a good score on a windy day, because -- although it's not a long golf course -- it can play tricky, especially with your second shots when the wind is swirling around.
Nothing much happened for me the next three days, though. Starting on the 10th on Friday, I fell back somewhat and was a couple over par after 10 holes. I guess, in the end, even-par 71 wasn't a bad score after the way I started the round.
On Saturday, I really struggled out there. I missed a lot of greens with my irons, which is unlike me, and shot 73. That put me out of the running, basically. But I never, ever give up. I mean, I always turn up on the 1st tee wanting to produce the best golf I can on any given day. My game just wasn't there on Sunday, though, and I added a 72 to the previous day's 73. It was a disappointing weekend of golf, obviously.
But I'm not going to let it get me down. I'm going to keep grinding away every week and try to get my game to where I think it should be.
Anyway, I didn't have long between finishing on Sunday afternoon at Hilton Head and jumping on a plane to South Korea to take part in this week's Ballantine's Championship at the Pinx Golf Club on the picturesque island of Jeju. Actually, by the time I arrive on Tuesday afternoon, it will have been four planes, but it's worth the trip. I've enjoyed my previous visits to Korea and I'm looking forward to returning again. Korea is at the forefront of the Asian golf boom and the fans there are extremely passionate and quite knowledgeable about the game.
And I hear from some of the guys who played last year's tournament that they really enjoyed the experience. It is a pretty tough golf course and apparently we can expect some windy conditions. If that turns out to be the case, fine by me! I've played in many Open Championships on windy golf courses and, having been a professional for 20 years, strong winds are no stranger to me. My long game has been feeling strong enough of late that I'll be able to adapt to whatever the weather does.
As I said, I'm looking forward to it. I'll tell you all about it next week.
To learn more about Ernie Els, visit www.ernieels.com.
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April 14, 2009
Posting a website report (on Saturday) was not part of my plans this weekend. Obviously it was extremely disappointing to miss the cut again at Augusta National but, as I've said before, you walk such a fine line on this golf course. I feel like all parts of my game are right there; I'm just not putting it all together at the moment. It's frustrating, but I have to keep working hard and try to stay positive.
The damage was done on day one. Conditions were perfect; they had some of the tees forward, the greens were receptive and even some of the pins were pretty generous. I was out early and I needed to make the most of the conditions. Shooting 75 when the scoring was as low as it was on Thursday; man, that just gave me such a lot to do on Friday.
And conditions were tougher on day two. The wind was up and the pins were tucked. With it being a relatively small field, the cut is just the top 44 players and ties, but it includes anyone within 10 shots of the lead. So when Chad Campbell and Kenny Perry finished early at 9-under par, I kind of knew 1-over par would probably be a safe number.
I was 4-over par midway through my round and nothing much was happening. I birdied the two par 5s, though, and got myself to 2-over par. I just needed to make one more birdie coming down the stretch. I hit a couple of great shots into 16 and 18, but they were tough putts and I failed to convert. So that was that.
It's such a frustrating feeling. You know, I actually played some good stuff out there, especially in my second round when as I said the conditions were pretty tough. And the way the field was bunched up -- just a couple of shots better and you're inside the top-30 and maybe contending over the weekend. Like I said, there's a fine line at Augusta National. This week I was the wrong side of that line.
Still, you have to put it behind you. And I'm looking forward to this coming week. The Verizon Heritage is played at Harbour Town on Hilton Head and it's one of my favorite tournaments. I'm not alone in that, either. This is definitely one of the players' favorite stops on the PGA TOUR. It's one of those tournaments where I feel comfortable as soon as I arrive. I'll be here with the family and we rent a nice place down by the beach, go bike riding together in the evenings. It's a nice way to wind-down after a day at the golf course. Over the years, that's often been the kind of recipe that helps me play my best golf.
And I like this golf course. It's a Pete Dye design and is a completely different type of test to Augusta National -- it's about 500 yards shorter, for one thing! But you still have to drive the ball well and, if you get out of position, it can hurt you. It's what I'd call a shotmakers' golf course. You need to work your ball, as they say.
Anyway, I've had a couple of good chances to win this tournament over the years. Hopefully this time I can slide in a couple of decent rounds early on, get a bit of confidence and maybe some momentum going out there.
As usual, I'll write next week and tell you all about it.
To learn more about Ernie Els, visit www.ernieels.com.
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April 6, 2009
I guess when you're tied for 112th after the first day's play, you might say that finishing tied for 14th wasn't a bad result in the end. And yeah, I'd probably go along with that line of thinking. I mean, I had a horrible nine holes in Round 1 at last week's Shell Houston Open, which contributed to a 75. But I followed that up with a great round of 66 on Friday, which included seven birdies, and then I played some pretty good stuff over the weekend to finish six under par overall. It wasn't the perfect week but, as I said, it wasn't such a bad result in the end.
Every year I always try and get my game figured out in the early part of the season to generate some confidence going into the Masters. That was my intention again this year, playing those tough courses in the Florida Swing and also last week in Houston. While I haven't necessarily been satisfied with my results, I have been satisfied with many aspects of my game. And now we're in Masters' week I'm obviously looking forward to the challenge of golf's first major.
Augusta National is a very different golf course to the one I first played in 1994. But you still get very excited. Hey, it's still the Masters!
Back in the mid-1990s, you could easily reach a lot of the par-5s. And on some of the par-4s you were going in with a short iron, so on holes like 7, 11 and 17, you could be very aggressive. Nowadays, the par-5s are a much bigger challenge and you'll see guys play away from flags a lot more on par-4s.
Take the 11th hole. You're going in there with a 3-iron or something, with the wind whipping into you. The fact of the matter is, professionals are not going to go for a 'tucked' flag on a par-4 with water on the left and the wind howling. You'll play safe; it's natural. I think that's the main reason the last couple of years, especially the final rounds, it's been a bit subdued here. It's just the way the golf course is set up.
I would say there isn't any doubt now that Augusta National is one of the toughest courses in the world. And if the weather turns and the flag positions are in certain parts, man, it is extremely difficult. There's a lot of slope on the greens and they are very firm and super quick. But this is a major championship and I understand that they want to try and test the players to the max. We all know how it's going to be and if you ask any player, they'll all say the same thing. You want to be coming back here forever!
I've had some pretty good runs over the years. Obviously the one that stands out is 2004, where I played a great last round and just got beat by Phil, but actually between 2000 and 2004 I had five consecutive top-six finishes here. I know this golf course; I know what it takes to do well here. But it is a very unforgiving golf course. You have to be right on top of your game or you struggle; it's as straightforward as that.
Last year was very disappointing missing the cut, but at the same time it was unbelievable to see Trevor win. I've known Trevor ever since he was five or six years old and he's always been a phenomenal player. I stayed in Augusta on Saturday last year and watched the broadcast on television and I thought he was swinging the best of all the guys they showed that day. I called him on Saturday night and I said exactly that to him.
I don't know how much he took in, but I just wanted him to know that I felt he was playing the most solid golf. I know Gary Player called him, too. He had a lot of support, but obviously he had to do the job the next day and I thought he did a great job. No South African had won the Masters since Gary in 1978, so it was a really big deal back home.
This year I arrived in Augusta on Sunday evening and I've scheduled to play nine holes with Louis Oosthuizen on Monday; this is his debut and, as you will have probably read on this site, he's the first former member of the Ernie Els & Fancourt Foundation to play in the Masters. No doubt we'll talk some more about that in an interview with The GOLF CHANNEL which is scheduled for after we play together on Monday.
Then on Tuesday I have a practice round organized with Gary Player, Retief Goosen and Richard Sterne. I always like to play a practice round here with Gary. Seeing him win the Masters in 1978 -- you know, that made such an impact on me. Obviously being from South Africa he was a hero of mine and he still is. And watching my hero win the biggest tournament in the world was quite something, I can tell you.
And the way he did it, too, making that putt on 18. And there was his playing partner Seve going crazy; man, he was almost happier than Gary was! That gave me a lot of inspiration; it made me want to be a professional golfer and some day to be in that same situation. I think any youngster at that age, you want to have a hero to look up to and you want to become like your hero. That's true in all walks of life. You need some kind of inspiration and that's what Gary has always been to me.
I still have a goal to complete the Grand Slam, just as Gary did in his career, and that ambition will stay with me until I stop playing out here. To achieve that, I have to win here at the Masters. As always, I'll be giving it absolutely every ounce of energy and concentration that I can muster.
For more on Ernie, check out his website at ernieels.com
March 31, 2009
It's a couple of big weeks coming up right now: The Shell Houston Open this week followed straight away by the first major championship of the year -- the Masters at Augusta National. I'm really fired up for it, obviously. I was actually scheduled to play Houston last year, but I got hit by a flu virus that week, which pretty much wiped me out. And, unfortunately, I was still feeling the after effects even at the Masters the following week. All in all, that was an extremely disappointing two weeks.
Anyway, for one reason or another, I've played in the Houston Open only once in my career -- in 2003 when I finished 10 under for the week and tied for 17th. That, too, was at Redstone Golf Club, but it was on the members' golf course. The current venue, the Tournament Course at Redstone, was introduced in 2006, so it'll be a bit of a first for me in some ways this week.
The golf course is carved out of lush woodland and was created especially to host professional tournaments. It was designed by the renowned architect Rees Jones. I hear it's been set up to play firm and fast this week, providing Mother Nature has no other plans of course, and those types of conditions tend to suit my game. We'll see.
Understandably, much of the golfing world already has one eye on the Masters. But hey, one week at a time! Houston is a wonderful tournament in its own right, and I'm looking forward to it.
Read the full blog at ernieels.com
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March 23, 2009
This Monday sees the playing of the inaugural Els for Autism Pro-Am; an event which marks the official formation of my new American-based foundation, Els for Autism. The Pro-Am is taking place at PGA National, on the Champion's Course where I won The Honda Classic last year, and our wish is that this will become a firm fixture on the golfing calendar.
We've had fantastic support from some of the legends of golf. Among those taking part are Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Gary Player and Raymond Floyd, along with some contemporary TOUR players including Justin Rose, Stuart Appleby, Robert Allenby and many more. I'm grateful to these players and to all the amateurs who have given their support and signed up for the day.
Read the full blog at ernieels.com
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March 17, 2009
Last week's World Golf Championships-CA Championship wasn't perfect for me, which is why I finished tied for 20th and not higher up the leaderboard. But even though I'm not necessarily happy with where I finished at Doral, I'm happy with how my game has progressed. I'm so pleased with the swing changes I've made with Butch, and I'd say from tee-to-green, I'm hitting it as well as I have at any time in my career. My putting feels good, too.
The level of consistency isn't quite where I'd want it to be just yet, but I'm getting there, and I'm excited about the rest of this year. I genuinely feel like I have some great golf in me. I'm hitting so many quality shots, and I'm making a bunch of birdies. Now I just need to get out of my own way and start shooting the scores that reflect the way I'm playing.
Read the full blog at ernieels.com
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March 10, 2009
I guess you could call this year's Honda Classic one of those not-quite-there type weeks. Obviously it was great to go back as defending champion -- that's always a bit of a buzz -- but finishing tied for 22nd wasn't quite the script I had in mind when I got there last Monday.
Still, it could have been worse. I had to make a tricky, downhill 8-footer for birdie on the 18th on Friday just to make the cut. So in that sense I was pleased to be there competing at the weekend. And I played much better the last couple of days -- you know, I hit something like 80 percent of fairways and greens and finished with a 66. This is a tough golf course, so that was a really nice way to sign off for the week.
Read the full blog at ernieels.com
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March 3, 2009
I made something like 16 birdies and an eagle in my first three matches at last week's World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. That was following on from 17 birdies and an eagle at Riviera the previous week, so obviously there is a lot of good in my game right now.
I had a bit of an off-day, as they say, against Stewart Cink in the quarter final, and so that was where the story ended for me last week. But on the whole, I'm happy with my progress. I'm swinging it well and really striking the ball nicely so yeah, we're getting there. And I made a bunch of putts over the first three days in Arizona. That felt sweet I can tell you. Anyway, let me talk you through my matches and also preview this week's Honda Classic, where I'll be teeing it up as defending champion.
Read the full blog at www.ernieels.com.
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